Sometimes I wonder into which alternate universe I have wandered

Australia successfully survived the Global Financial Crisis under the stewardship of a federal Labor Government which did not panic and, with the cooperation of states and territories, acted swiftly to support weak points in the national economy.

So well did the nation weather this financial tsunami that a year on from the initial rolling economic destruction it was being openly stated by northern hemisphere economic commentators that Australia was the envy of the rest of the developed world and, in 2012 in comparison with that same developed world we still have low unemployment, low levels of government debt, low interest rates, an economy which is holding its own despite an historically weak manufacturing sector and good international credit ratings.

Which begs the question of why this Essential Report survey question elicited negative attitudes in these responses below - from 42 per cent of the very people who barely felt any effect of this global crisis.

Trust to deal with GFC

May 7, 2012

Q. If there was another Global Financial Crisis, which party would you trust most to deal with it?

	15 Aug 11	Total	Vote Labor	Vote Lib/Nat	Vote Greens
The Labor Party	31%	25%	68%	2%	42%
The Liberal Party	40%	42%	5%	83%	5%
No difference	20%	23%	19%	11%	39%
Don’t know	9%	10%	8%	4%	14%

If there was another GFC, 42% would trust the Liberal Party more to handle it and 25% would trust the Labor Party more. This represents a shift to the Liberal Party from net +9% to net +17%

The Liberal Party was rated higher than Labor with all demographic groups. Those most likely to trust the Liberal Party more were men (47%), aged 55+ (48%), full-time workers (50%) and income over $1,600 pw (50%).

Commonwealth Budget Papers 2012-13

Over at www.budget.gov.au the 2012-13 federal budget papers are available for those interested in delving deeper than tomorrow's tabloid newspaper headlines.

• Budget Speech
• Budget at a Glance
• Budget Overview
• Budget Paper No.1  Strategy and Outlook
• Budget Paper No.2  Budget Measures
• Budget Paper No.3  Australia's Federal Relations
• Budget Paper No.4  Agency Resources
• Appropriation Bills

• Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
• Final Budget Outcome

• Portfolio Budget Statements
• Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements
• Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements

• Ministerial Statements

Past Budgets

A look back at the lack of Coalition economic theory expertise - as Australia waits for the 2012-13 federal budget to be revealed

Hours out from the 2012-13 federal budget, a look back at 2011....

Gross debt - gross ignorance on Saturday, 12 November 2011:  

Admittedly, the notion of gross and net government debt is a little complex, but when someone speaks authoritatively about gross debt in particular, one would hope they understood the intricacies of the concepts involved and how the government debt market works before they opened their mouth. It is embarrassing and disturbing, therefore, to hear the Shadow Finance Minister Andrew Robb, join with the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Barnaby Joyce and Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott deliver sensational criticisms about the rise in gross debt in Australia.

The views of the Liberal and National Party leaders - the alternative government in other words - highlight a gross misunderstanding of markets, economics and conceptualising what is big and small.

Read the rest here.

Warning: Scamsters using the Tax Office to dud the unsuspecting

An email (copy below) currently doing the rounds and purporting to be from the Australian Tax Office is a scam. Avoid it like the plague.

Dear Australian Taxation Office customer,

After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $250.50 AUD. Please submit the tax refund form and allow us 3-5 business days in order to process it.

A fund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.To access the form for your tax refund, please Click Here (link removed).

Thank you,
Australian Taxation Office Online Department.

Read the ATO's advice about scams here.

The Great Angourie Croc Hunt of 1940

There was a time when the Lower Clarence thought it had its own crocodile, according to The Courier-Mail on  5 January 1940.

Click on image to enlarge

The Hon. Dr. Peter 'Waste of Space' Phelps MLC

Excerpt from Queensland Government pest plant fact sheet for Eragrostis curvula:

A native of southern Africa, this grass was probably first introduced to Australia by accident as a contaminant of pasture seed. Different cultivars of this grass have also been used as a soil stabiliser in erosion-control situations.

African lovegrass has been planted in different locations throughout south-east Queensland and has naturalised in all Australian states in acidic, red and especially sandy soils.

African lovegrass produces vast quantities of seeds, which quickly develop into a large viable seed bank, making the plant very difficult to eradicate. It is extremely competitive with other pasture species and is an aggressive invader, quickly overtaking sparse, overgrazed or poor quality pastures, particularly in sandy soils.

African lovegrass can form dense monocultures up to 1.2 m high. This can create large fuel loads in the dry months, posing a fire hazard and creating competition with native species regeneration.

The NSW Industry and Investments website states that overall carrying capacity is reduced when there is dense African Love Grass infestation.

So what does NSW Legislative Council Government Whip Peter Phelps MLC have to say in the 1 May debate on the Noxious Weeds Amendment Bill 2012 when lovegrass gets a mention? Why he asks; Can you smoke it?

It would appear that NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, doesn't respect the CSIRO, BOM, NASA or any reputable climate scientist

One of the worst kept secrets on the NSW North Coast is that NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, is a climate changer denier.

The latest evidence of this is his claim; that no tidal measurements had been taken over time to prove that sea levels were actually rising

The Lower Clarence Valley, which knows this former shire councillor and land developer better than most, would be unsurprised by this claim – given that he is already anecdotally famous for stating words to the effect that removing mature trees from riverbanks would reduce or eliminate erosion of said banks.

What his latest claim about sea levels clearly demonstrates is that Chris Gulaptis either hasn’t bothered to read authoritative reports on the subject, does not understand the science or refuses to respect the science.

To illustrate the political ignorance that is being displayed by the parliamentary representative of an electorate with such a long coastline, here are some quotes.

This is what the Australian CSIRO stated in 2011 about sea level impacts:

Sea level rise will be felt both through changes in mean sea level, and, perhaps more importantly, through changes in extreme sea level events. Even if there are no changes in extreme weather conditions (for example, increases in tropical cyclone intensity), sea level rise will result in extreme sea levels of a given value being exceeded more frequently. This change in the frequency of extreme events has already been observed at many locations. The increase in frequency of extreme events will depend on local conditions, but events that currently occur once every 100 years could occur as frequently as once every few years by 2100.

Global Mean Sea Level increased by 210mm between 1880 and 2009, and is continuing to rise at a fairly steady rate of just over 3mm/year. This rate of rise is undoubtedly contributing to the flooding problems of low-lying island states like Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Maldives.

This is exacerbated in some areas (e.g. Gippsland, Victoria and the Gulf coast of the U.S.) where large-scale land subsidence causes a rate of rise relative to the land which is substantially higher.

Correspondingly, some areas have seen less impact because they are rising. Australia is rising at about 0.3-0.4mm/year due to Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA), but is still starting to feel the effects.

In addition, the continuing rise in mean level causes a corresponding increase in the frequency of extreme events, as detailed on the next page…..

The effect of rising mean sea levels will be felt most profoundly during extreme storm conditions when strong winds and falling pressure bring about a temporary and localised increase in sea level known as a storm surge. Storm surges occurring on higher mean sea levels will enable inundation and damaging waves to penetrate further inland increasing flooding, erosion and the subsequent detrimental impacts on built infrastructure and natural ecosystems. In the tropics storm surges are caused by tropical cyclones while elsewhere mid-latitude storms and their associated cold fronts are the main cause of storm surges.

This is what the Australian Bureau of Meteorology states in its State of the Climate Report 2012:

State of the Climate 2012 also highlights the increase in global sea level and notes sea-level rise around Australia since 1993 is greater than, or equal to, the global average. Our observations show that sea-surface temperatures around Australia have increased faster than the global average.

This is what the United States NASA was saying in 2011 about sea levels:

Like mercury in a thermometer, ocean waters expand as they warm. This, along with melting glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, drives sea levels higher over the long term. For the past 18 years, the U.S./French Jason-1, Jason-2 and Topex/Poseidon spacecraft have been monitoring the gradual rise of the world's ocean in response to global warming.

 

This is what NASA’s Chief Scientist states in 2012:

Sea level rise is one of the most readily recognizable manifestations of climate change, because it is directly observable without the aid of instrumentation, with very visible effects. Sea level rise is not as rapidly variable as many of the other indicators of climate change, such as temperature or precipitation. Rather it evolves relatively slowly and presents a clear expression of the integrated elements of our changing climate [ Statement of Dr. Waleed Abdalati, Chief Scientist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate,19 April 2012]